PLANS for a new town south of York have been increased since the idea was made public, it has emerged.

The massive Whinthorpe development between Heslington and Elvington could now have around 6,000 homes - ten per cent more than the 5,580 originally planned.

The development is part of City of York Council's draft local plan and has appeared in all three versions of the document over the last 18 months.

Figures obtained by Liberal Democrat councillors show the new town was first planned with 5,580 homes, then 5,073 in the revised "further sites" document this summer. The most recent version has around 6,000 houses in 392.5 hectares of land.

Liberal Demovrat group leader Cllr Keith Aspden criticised the expansion in the face of "overwhelming" opposition.

He added: "One of the key concerns is the impact development on this scale would have on local infrastructure, such as the A64.

"We need to see proper projections and financed plans, including how exactly the site could be accessed and how the A64 could cope.”

Nick Allen, chairman of the Heslington Village Trust, said the increase made a farce of the consultation responses by villagers and the parish council, and said he too was worried about transport and infrastructure for a settlement the size of Whinthorpe.

The council have said putting forward an entire site like Whinthorpe - which would be built over a long period of time up till 2040 - means developers can plan things such as leisure, open space and shops for the settlement.

Cllr Dave Merrett, cabinet member for planning, said: “The council has listened to residents right across the city and made changes to the draft Local Plan as a result, including lowering housing numbers significantly from 22,000 to 17,000. Whinthorpe will now only see 2,380 homes built in the plan period. These comments from the Lib Dems show how desperate they have become, attempting to outdo the Tories in who is most opposed to new homes in the outer wards to be seen to be relevant."

The council's head of planning Martin Grainger added: "All sites considered for development have been through a comprehensive site assessment process including input from a range of specialised council officers and external consultants. The sites included within the draft plan are considered to represent the most sustainable package of sites which avoid areas of high flood risk, special historic character and areas important for nature conservation."

There will be another chance for people to have their say on the final proposals in October, he added.